Edward Scissorhands (1990,USA)

Director

Tim Burton

Cast

Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Diane Wiest (Peg Boggs), Winona Ryder (Kim Boggs), Alan Arkin (Bill Boggs), Vincent Price (The Inventor), Kathy Baker (Joyce)

Screenplay

Caroline Thomson

Format

Live action, colour

Language

English

Running time

100 minutes

Classification

PG

Distributor

Twentieth Century Fox

Genre

Fantasy

Setting

A contemporary suburban housing estate in America

Main characters

Edward Scissorhands, Peg Boggs, Kim Boggs, Bill Boggs

Narrative focus

Edward Scissorhands as he is introduced to suburban life

Synopsis

Edward is the creation of an eccentric inventor who lives in a gothic-style house on a hill above a 'normal' American suburb. The inventor died suddenly before completing his work, so Edward is left with 'scissor hands'. Edward is found by Peg Boggs and she brings him to live with her family in the suburbs. Edward is initially a source of excitement and intrigue in the community. Some of the women find Edward's difference attractive and others are repulsed and terrified by it. Edward begins to enjoy suburban life and falls in love with Peg's daughter, Kim. He is tricked by Kim's boyfriend and gets into trouble, which escalates beyond his control. A sympathetic policeman ensures that Edward returns safely to the house on the hill.

Background

Tim Burton began his career as an animator. He directed Batman (US, 1989) and went on to direct Sleepy Hollow (US, 1999). Johnny Depp has developed his acting career around the portrayal of unusual, and often marginalized, characters and Edward Scissorhands is one of the films he is best known for. It is considered one of the best Hollywood films of the 1990s.

Commentary

Edward Scissorhands is exemplary of the Hollywood studio fantasy through which films can comment on and make observations about society and social attitudes without being 'heavy handed'. The film dramatises and satirises issues relating to suburban neighbourhood communities, the mother figure, physical disability, prejudice and hysteria. Fantasy films, like fairy tales, can be very real at an emotional level. Edward Scissorhands combines actors in real locations and special effects images: such as models of the old house. The film music is operatic and contributes to the effect of the film as a piece of heightened reality. It is also used to identify characters and amplify mood.

Edward's difference makes him both loved and feared, and the film plays with the audience's familiarity with sinister presences in gothic films, before clearly demonstrating its sympathy with him. When Peg Boggs first enters the house the lighting is dark, low key, expressionist, which makes Edward seem scary. This is reinforced when Peg sees Edward's bedroom, while on the soundtrack we hear the apparently threatening sound of scissors. The camera tracks in as Edward steps out of the shadows. To extend the moment of suspense, the scene cuts back to Peg looking into the shadows. When we do finally see him we realise our fears are unjustified and Edward is clearly a sad and sympathetic character.

This film illustrates how art direction and production design can inform and deepen the meaning of a film. The theme of deceptive appearances is expressed in the set design, camera work and lighting. Beautifully manicured gardens are hidden by the forbidding walls of the strange house on the hill where Edward lives. High-key, low contrast lighting creates an unreal two-dimensional effect for the suburban community where Peg and her family live. This is enhanced by the use of wide-angle lenses, which means that when characters come close to camera they and their surroundings seem slightly distorted. This makes the neighbours' appear as freakish as Edward.

Also recommended

E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial (US, 1982, Stephen Spielberg) is another film about an alien who is treated with both compassion and fear by different groups in a community. Like Edward Scissorhands, the film dramatises the place of the police (and other agencies) in the lives of everyday people.

The Elephant Man (UK/USA, 1980, David Lynch) is a classic example of a story about prejudice and fear surrounding physical disability.

Teaching suggestions (Key Stage 3, age 11-14)

Citizenship focus

• The diversity of national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK and the need for mutual respect and understanding.

Subject links

Art and Design: Examine how costume, make up and set help to convey and enhance meaning and atmosphere.

Freeze frame

Watch the first scene where Edward is introduced to the audience. As the shot slowly zooms out we can see the town from Edward's point of view. Stop the film at this point and discuss:

• Why do we only see his back and why is he only on the edge of the frame?
• Describe the lighting and colour of this scene?
• What impression do you get of his character from this first introduction?

Pause the film at any daytime scene on the housing estate. Discuss:

• What do you notice about the colours and the lighting?
• What do you notice about the cars, houses and front gardens?
• How is the housing estate different from the house on the hill?
• What meanings are created by both these 'unrealistic' settings?

Sound and image

Watch the scene where Peg first visits the house on the hill with the screen covered, up until Edward speaks.

• What sound effects do you hear?
• What kind of music do you hear?
• What kind of film do you associate these sound effects and music with?
• When does the music stop?
• Describe Edward's tone of voice when he first speaks. How is this unexpected?
• Now watch the scene with the images.
• Describe the colour and lighting of the set?
• How is the editing used to create suspense and fear as Edward appears from the shadows?
• Whose point of view do you identify with until Edward speaks, Peg's or Edward's?
• What does this make you 'learn' as the film progresses and Peg's point of view changes?

Attracting audiences

Ask students to analyse the video cover for the film.

• What images and colours are chosen and why?
• What 'tag lines' and language are used and how do they effect your reading of the images?
• What other information does the video cover give us and what does this reveal about star billing and the intended target audience for the film?
• Ask students to redesign the video cover for older audiences and emphasise the 'subtext' of the film that deals with issues of prejudice and discrimination.

Discussion

The following questions can be used as a starting point to focus discussion before generalising the issues that the film raises.

• What makes Edward different from the rest of the community?
• How do the other characters react to Edward's 'scissorhands'?
• What does the word 'handicapped' actually mean?
• Is it Edward's physical difference or is it the prejudices of other people that prevent him living in the community? (Or a bit of both?)
• When is Edward's difference from others seen to be 'special' and when is it a threat?
• What makes the difference?
• How are the community presented as hypocritical?
• How do the film's settings and lighting suggest that appearances can be deceptive?
• How is the fantasy/fairy tale structure used to convey a serious message?
• What might Edward's 'scissorhands' represent if the film was made in a more realistic style?
• How are your assumptions changed during the course of the film?
• What does this teach you about judging someone by appearances alone?
• What does the word 'prejudice' actually mean? How is prejudice different from discrimination?

Whole class discussion

Chair a whole class discussion on 'What is prejudice?' but deny all those students with short hair (or some other arbitrary characteristic) the right to speak. Do not tell them what you are doing but simply ignore them when they raise their hands to speak. After the discussion (unless they cotton on first), ask the students whether they noticed what you were doing and discuss:

• How did it feel to be denied their right to express an opinion?
• Why did they think they were being ignored?
• Did they take it personally or did they feel angry at the unfairness of it?
• What was their response – passive, aggressive or assertive – and did it work?

Practical production work

Get students to compare the effects of different camera styles in representing 'difference' positively or negatively. Ask them to remake the first scene in which we see Edward Scissorhands. Divide the class into three different 'crews':

• Ask one crew to film the scene from Edward's point of view. They should exclusively use a subjective camera angle (as if the camera lens is the 'eyes' of the character).
• Ask the second crew to film the scene from Peg's point of view. They should exclusively use an over-the shoulder camera angle allowing no close-ups of Edward.
• Ask the third crew to film the scene ensuring that there are extended close-ups of Edward.

Screen the different versions and discuss the effects each camera angle has on making Edward's character seem 'weird' or 'normal'. This could lead onto general discussions about the representation of disability and/or difference in mainstream Hollywood filmmaking and its positive or negative stereotypes.